Election/Voter Information


Online Resources to Understand How to Vote and What you are Voting For 

Easy Voter Guide
For new voters and busy voters, provides information on candidates,
propositions and voting issues and is
available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean and Chinese.

FactCheck.org
Nonpartisan, nonprofit "consumer
advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and
confusion in U.S. politics. FactCheck.org is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center
of the University of Pennsylvania.

California Elections and
Voter Information
Provided by the California Secretary
of State

Congress.org
Allows users to identify and contact elected leaders in Congress, the White House, and state legislatures.

Solano County Registrar of Voters
Election and Voter Information
geared to Solano County residents

 Smartvoter.org
Covers all the candidates, initiatives, and issues and you can search by your
street address or zip code.
California Initiative Review (CIR)
A non-partisan, objective publication of independent analysis of California statewide ballot initiatives.		  

Get a quick background from one of our databases 

Federal Elections. (2010) In Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Gale, Cengage Learning.
A brief overview of the election system in the United States and other systems that exist in other countries. Also touches on the debate over election finance.

Primary Documents 

Bill of Rights Transcript. The Charters of Freedome Online Exhibit. Archives.Gov, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
Read a digital transcript of the first 10 Amendments of the Constitution known as The Bill of Rights.

 

Selections from our Collection - The History of your Freedoms 

 

Civil Liberties and the Bill of Rights - Great Courses
(Book on CD)
Structured to emulate
a college course, this
is a set of lectures that cover the institutional and interpretive foundations of the American constitutional order, the Bill of Rights; and the individuals provisions of the Bill of Rights and the development of
several other specific liberties.

In Defense of Liberty: The Story of America's Bill of
Rights
Describes the origins,
applications of, and challenges to the ten amendments to the
United States Constitution that comprise the Bill of Rights.
Securing Democracy: Why we Have an Electoral College 
Arguments from several dicplines and directions that the problems the Electoral College solves are far more important than those it creates. The authors trace the institutions history, addresses federalism and points out the college's value. 		 Freedom of Speech Decisions of the United States Supreme Court 
Contains free speech that has been determined by the United States Supreme Court to be protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Freedom for the Thought the we Hate: A Biography of the First Amendment.
A thoughtful essay on the evolution of the American concept of free speech from the First Amendment through modern challenges to free speech. 		We Hold these Truths - and Other Words that Made America
Covers 200 years of early American history and describes quotes from the nation’s founders and their documents. The author points out how the words of our fore fathers have changed history.
The Good Citizen: A History of American Civic Life
The author challenges critics who claim civic life is falling apart. He rejects simplistic attacks on rights consciousness, arguing that, as the nation changes, standards of good citizenship change.		  

Resources for our Not too Distant Future Voters 

 

How is a Government Elected?
Provides essential information on all aspects of the election process. Packed with plenty of full-color images to help deliver a fundamental message: that the right to vote is one of the cornerstones of a free and democratic society. 		 Michael Townsend's Where do Presidents Come From? and Other Presidential Stuff of Super Great Importance
A comic book guide to everything you ever wanted to know (and maybe a few things you didn't!) about the President of the United States. Full weird facts about our leaders as well as the history and powers of the presidency, day-to-day life, and pros and cons of the job.
Censorship
Essays debating the sides of free speech and censorship in the areas of politics, war, religion, the Internet, the media and even students. 		 Banned Books
Questions whether childrens should be protected from controversial books, the alternatives to banning books and should certain kinds of material be restricted.
The Nineteenth Amendment: Women's Right to Vote
Traces the history of the women's rights movement in the United States which culminated in 1920 with the passage of the constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote. 		 Constitutional Amendments: From Freedom of Speech to Flag Burning
Contains a chapter devoted to each amendment that provides historical background, details about the drafting and ratification processes, a chronological summary of significant court cases, and a discussion of how the amendment has affected Americans in their everyday lives. 
Understanding Your Right to Vote
Explores the Fifteenth Amendment, which gave men the right to vote regardless of the color of their skin, and the Nineteenth Amendment, which guarantees women the right to vote. 		 The Bill of Rights
Challenges young readers to carefully examine and understand the Constitution's first ten Amendments, which guarantee their basic human rights. The author also puts them into the context of present-day to show the Bill of Rights is as important to their daily lives as it was to the lives of the first citizens of the newly independent United States.

Updated October 2012